The Entertainer closing another toy shop in UK city - full list of shops shut in 2025

Britain's biggest toy chain is set to pull the shutters down on another high street store, in the latest blow to the UK's struggling retail landscape.

The Entertainer has confirmed its Dundee branch at the Wellgate Centre will close on January 5, 2026, after bosses deemed the location "not commercially viable."

Notices are already in the shop windows, with the nearest alternative branch now a 41-mile drive away in Dunfermline.

The Scottish closure follows a similar announcement in Sheffield, where the store at The Moor Shopping Centre closed on October 11. Shoppers rushed in for the chain's "everything must go" sale, with discounts of up to 25% on hundreds of toys.

Founded in 1981 by Gary and Catherine Grant, The Entertainer grew from a single Amersham shop into a national chain of 160 stores, with additional concessions in Tesco and Matalan.

The business has faced mounting pressures in recent years, as high street rents rose and shopping habits shifted increasingly online. Chief executive Andrew Murphy said: "Sadly, it is a fact of retail life that shops sometimes have to close, as shopping patterns shift and cost growth outstrips sales increases. We are particularly upset at the impact this has on our colleagues, who have run the store brilliantly."

The Entertainer has not let closures slow its broader strategy. The chain has expanded into supermarket concessions, initially trialled in Tesco stores in 2022 and extended to more than 850 locations by early 2024. There's also a pilot partnership with Modella Capital, the owner of TGJones, WHSmith and Hobbycraft, to introduce toy offerings into some of those stores.

Earlier this year, founder Gary Grant, 66, handed ownership of The Entertainer to an employee ownership trust, giving staff a share of profits and a voice in how the business is run. Mr Grant said at the time: "This is a significant decision for the family, and one we haven't taken lightly, but it feels like the right time to transfer our entire shareholding into an employee ownership trust."

Confirmed store closures:

• Croydon, London - Whitgift Centre: Closed February 1, 2025.

• Luton - Luton Point Shopping Centre: Closed January 25, 2025.

• Hartlepool - Middleton Grange Shopping Centre: Closed September 27, 2025, due to landlord redevelopment.

• Sheffield - The Moor Shopping Centre: Closed October 11, 2025. Featured 25% off closing down sale.

• Romford - Mercury Shopping Centre: Closing 2025. Nearby Romford Brewery store remains open.

• Dundee - Wellgate Centre: Closing January 5, 2026. Nearest alternative is Dunfermline, 41 miles away.

• Wrexham - Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre: Closing January 5, 2026. Customers can still access Tesco concessions and nearby Broughton Park store.